A manifesto for those who believe in building over breaking, lifting over judging. Turning haters into helpers, one at a time. Because the world doesn’t need more noise - it needs more light. Join us in rewriting what it means to respond. Example: https://x.com/VincentChan/status/1936127261654368623
I think LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner said it best regarding this topic: "being an asshole was way easier than putting in the work and showing the compassion required to be a good leader."
Yup, totally agree. Running a blog is definitely a marathon. I did make the mistake of giving up too early in previous projects. So I will take this lesson to heart. Thanks so much for reminding me this.
Thanks so much for your encouragement! Your comment made my day. I've saved tons of interesting business stories after reading many books and blog posts over the years. Would like to share them on this site going forward.
Since I've read that "innocent" book, I'd like to give another perspective. Many entrepreneurs are not willing to get into the consumer goods business because of the giant competitors like P&G, Unilever and Coca Cola. That's why innocent's founders emphasised starting "small" in their book. They started the business in a kitchen and eventually won the battle (sort of) by creativity. That's why stories like innocent and Method are so inspiring.
They contacted me before saying if I'm willing to pay for the $3,000, I will get the top 100 award. It's a joke. But there are still so many companies willing to pay them every year in Asia. So sad.
Just curious, what methodical process did you follow? Did you first test the market using tactics similar to the lean startup approach? Thanks for your advice.
I guess what I mean by success is not only about profitability. I consider that changing the world positively in a large scale is a success. So I think kiva, spacex, yelp and yammer are all successful startups/organizations.
However, I think one of the reasons for their success is due to their roots - The Point, the startup using collective power to help people deal with local issues. Groupon's founder once said, "None of us would work here if it were only about selling stuff at a discount—ultimately, we're trying to give people an excuse to get out of the house and enjoy life."
I think a successful company needs to have a corporate mission that is bigger than making a profit. I believe their roots help them build a strong brand and user base, which is a very strong barrier to entry.
Apparently, Groupon is not the first to execute the idea. Mercata is the failed Groupon of the late ’90s. Paul Allen has invested around $90 million in it. Why it failed? One of the analyst said this in the interview below. "But like many ideas that have been tried, execution turned out to be a problem. I don't think the category is necessarily dead, but may resurface in different clothing."